Why use a professional garden designer?

Gardens are good for the soul

They can be sanctuaries away from the stresses of modern life..

..or the place where you want to entertain and have fun.

Whether you want to just sit and relax, or potter around tending to plants, gardens can make you feel good. Not only this, a well designed garden is a good investment, adding value to your property and making it more inviting to prospective buyers.

The most difficult part of designing your own garden is often finding the ideas. You may know the sort of things that you want, maybe a reflecting pool, a new terrace, somewhere to sit in the shade, or some structural planting, but how do you put it all together to make a strong design where everything works in harmony and the garden looks good at any time of year?

Through my training and expertise, I can help you to see the potential in your outdoor space, offer you some great ideas and guide you through the wide variety of choices to create a garden which not only looks terrific at the start, but also has the longevity that you need from it.

Many of my past clients have commented on how much they enjoy their new gardens now that the task of maintaining the garden does not seem so massive. A garden, over time, can feel like a burden, especially if it has grown out of control. The chances are you no longer find pleasure in putting in new plants or relaxing in the garden. A new garden can relieve this burden and with the additional advice I can offer on garden and plant maintenance I can help you to feel more in control of your outdoor space.

Benefits of using a qualified Garden Designer

  • A designer will explore your aspirations in terms of how you want to use the garden, the sense that it gives, the style or materials that you like, and the specific features that you would like to include. They will then build this into a design plan.
  • A garden plan allows you to think about what the final garden will look like. You can measure it out on the ground and see how it feels to move around the space. The plan can be reviewed and amended before a digger gets to work, potentially saving money on costly errors or amendments.
  • Getting the right scale and proportion of the elements within the garden is vital for the resulting space to be pleasing to the eye. Elements should be in proportion to the house, to each other and to the garden user. A good designer has the skills to achieve this, thinking not only about the aesthetics but also about the practicality e.g. the width of paths, the size of a terrace, and access points.
  • Architectural elements e.g. walls, hedges, paths and terraces, shape the experience of the garden user i.e. how you feel when you move around the garden, drawing you into different areas of the garden, or encouraging you to sit in a certain place. A designer can organise these elements to achieve a certain feel in the garden
  • A good design can delineate different areas to create ‘rooms’ which can make the garden feel larger and more interesting.
  • It is important that the right plants are used i.e. those that are suitable for the garden conditions in terms of pH, soil texture, light levels etc. It is more cost effective to have a professional planting plan by a designer who has horticultural skills and experience based on the right plants that are going to thrive in your garden. A designer can also often get plants at a cheaper rate than you would buy them at a garden centre.
  • A garden exists in 4 dimensions. A good designer will think about how the garden will change over time and how it will be maintained, particularly in terms of the growth rates of plants and the level of maintenance required to keep the garden looking good. They can often offer advice after the garden construction on plant care and maintenance if required.
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“We were really impressed with the design service offered by Jayne. Jayne was able to take our initial brief and translate this into a stunning contemporary design that really made the most of the small space we had and provided a great backdrop to our new kitchen extension. The combination of hard landscaping and planting have completely transformed the garden. Over several meetings she was able to communicate the concepts and hone the design and even sample materials. She then recommended and then liaised with the landscaper to ensure the implementation went to plan before completing the final planting.”

Mrs Fenner
Marston Moretaine

"I found Jayne to be very friendly and pleasant to work with. The design is lovely - very attractive. I was impressed with Jayne's willingness to adapt to and take account of our cost constraints and likes and dislikes regarding plants. All work was carried out efficiently and pleasantly. Jayne was always ready to discuss and advise about design and plants and has transformed a boring and rather difficult small garden into an interesting area which will only improve as the plants grow and mature."

Mr & Mrs Barwell
Welwyn Garden City

We love our garden now. Our two dogs had pretty much destroyed it and it had become an embarrassment. We never used it, not even just for ourselves. It now has structure and a proper patio area and is always good to look at even in this bleak weather!

This will be our second spring with it and I'm really looking forward to seeing everything grows again and how it will change this year.

Mr & Mrs Crooke
Flitton

Jayne was always totally reliable, whether coming out to look at the garden or providing plans and ideas, and is a very knowledgeable plantswoman.

She had a good understanding of what I wanted to do with the garden, and always listened to my ideas and then made suggestions that were appropriate to the location and aspect.

Mr & Mrs Townsend
Houghton Conquest

Jayne's ideas of how to transform a long straight garden into something more interesting were quite inspirational. By introducing shape and perspective the garden now has structure.

The planting plan she suggested has added interest and constant colour which changes with the season.

Needless to say we are delighted.

Mr & Mrs Collier
Pulloxhill

We were delighted with Jayne's approach to our garden and her understanding of what we were trying to achieve.

Her knowledge of plants and what will actually work is fantastic.

Three years on we are still delighted with our garden.

Mr & Mrs Bryant
Pulloxhill

Jayne has a real passion for gardening and her knowledge of plants is highly impressive. She seems to know exactly which plant will thrive in a particular part of the garden - sunny, shady, soil type and so on. She also thinks about the proportions and overall effect.

To work with, she is extremely flexible and happy to give you just the bits of advice or help you need.

Mel Henson
Welwyn Garden City